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2017-10-27 - Bats and Cats
Few things could qualify that Alfred found annoying. This was one of those rare things that had him at least mildly irritated, if such a side could be come out. In this case, the fine silverware and china had gone missing. Again. And there was only one person who would regularly engage in such petty pilfery purely for amusement Bruce made a little show of dusting for fingerprints and doing a forensics sweep. He informed the irritated servant that it was Selina. "You found evidence, sir?" Alfred asked. "Not a speck of evidence. Not even a pick mark on a single lock," Bruce said putting away the tools. "Ah yes. It must be Ms. Selina. Do you have a plan?" "Yes. Invite her to dinner," Bruce said heading back to the Cave. "Another case solved by the world's greatest detective," Pennyworth muttered reaching for the phone. It was really hard sometimes to get what one wanted. Selina was just more than happy as the arrangements were made. As she was called, she first went to pout, "You're slacking some Alfred. I swear i saw dust on them -before- I nabbed them. Is the kid driving you that nuts when it comes to babysitting you're having to slack off some when it comes to dusting?" Alfred probably had the control to -not- plan to kill her. At least not openly! Dare to match an Englishman at snarking would she? Alfred Pennyworth liked watching Gosford Park and complaining about how maudlin, and wishy washy the servants there were. He cleared a smudge on a 18th century mirror as he spoke, "Dust? Surely Ms. Kyle you must have confused *our* silverware with another set you pilfered? In any case dinner is at 4:30. The master likes to keep his evenings free. Please dress accordingly, preferably something without pockets." He smiled slightly. Down in the Cave Bruce was listening (of course) and nearly started a fire with a small job of spot welding he doing on his latest contraption. He hurriedly stamped out the burning flux and shut down the torch. Selina ahems, "Of course. And tell him to get out of his parent's basement. I know he really likes being all dark and brooding but if he doesn't get at least /something/ of a tan people are going to start worrying that he's some sort of relative of Dracula's." But, since when has pockets stopped Selina from finding places to hide things? There's a grin on her face as she goes to shut off the phone. And when Selina arrives, it's coming through the cave rather than the upper levels, and she is wearing what is best described as a little black number designed to put anyone who sees it into an early grave. Batman has had plenty of experience with people trying to put him in an early grave. He withstands this latest attempt though it rates pretty high on his list, right after the time he was strapped to a giant coin with Robin and flipped over a pit of spikes by Two-Face. For the record he was already dressed for dinner and looking over papers at his desk. "Good evening Selina? Have you felt neglected lately?" He asked returning several folders to a drawer and shutting it with a click. His eyes widen a little as he takes it all in. Though technically there is /not/ a lot of dress to take in. At the very least it wasn't a villain with a luchador mask trying to cook them over a giant pit of fajitas. There was only so much Holy Frijole that Robin could take before his brain broke. "Bruce, pleasure to see you again. One almost might think you were enjoying my presence. And here I was thinking I would have to start upping my game." She slides over and goes to wink. "And thank you for noticing.” Bruce stands and adjusts his blazer. He says, "Kyle and Pennyworth are powerful carrots and sticks to motivate. Even the Batman is merely mortal. I want you to know you two have more hold over me than the Boy Scout and the Amazon." He extends a hand to her. "You look wonderful. I haven't seen you since ... I was beating down swordsmen at the Iceberg Lounge. I didn't have time to talk then. Apologies.” Selina nods and goes to give Bruce a kiss on either cheek, "It's fine. I should have known better than to try and rob the place. The decor is awful and the take isn't that good. Can't blame a girl for trying though. And did you ever figure out who was trying to kill who or was it all just a big case of mistaken stab-dentity?" Breaking out in a low grin. Batman takes a deep breath. It is Batman answering her. The voice is different. He's all business for the moment. "The interns are working on it. Most likely a power play and Oswald getting caught with his pants down." Then he's Bruce again. He takes her by the arm and escorts her to the stairs and opens the door for her. Selina sighs, "Lovely. And.. Interns? I have to admit that's a new one." A look of curiosity on her eyes but not something she inquiries on unless The Bat wants to elaborate on it. "Alfred keeping track of them all?" Bruce says, "He was used to handling the full social calendar of my parents and keeping one eye on suicidally curious child. He does fine. He had a marked period of tension over Carrie. Not used to girls." Bruce has to admit, he hates to see Selina go but loves watching her walk away. Selina just sort of laughs quietly, "Got it. I'll just have to wonder then how he would have coped if you were one. I'm sure he would have even -more- interesting stories to tell." That might even get a Bat-Glare. Bruce frowns a moment and then smiles. "That sounds like some Batman fan fiction he'd work on. Of course that was before Batwoman showed up. Too confusing now. No he was worried about her holding her own with the boys. Now he worries about the boys. Sending her to Ted was a good idea. She's blossomed this last year ... in a bad assed sort of way. Then again she had me with 20 plus years more experience training her, then me, then Ted and you." When they arrive in the dining room ... that is a dining room Bruce holds the chair for Selina. Alfred brought him up right. And Pennyworth is there as they sit down. A covered tray is in his hand. It contains a steaming and savory beef stew which the butler dutifully dishes out, murmuring a cool greeting to Selina. Selina goes to settle on down, "Thank you Bruce. And thank you for letting me be here Alfred." A light inclination of her head is given over to Alfred then in quiet respect for him permitting her to come into his home. "I can't take the credit fro her. She's a tough kid and has done things her own way. And she's made her own path. You should be proud of her." She offers quietly and takes a seat thoughtfully. "And I suppose I had one thing to ask you, if I could." She gently inquires, her hand resting down over on her lap then as she made for once gentle eye contact over with Bruce. Bruce says, “You can ask me anything you want, just bear in mind, I may say 'no.'” Selina just smiles, "In which case I'll just let Alfred correct you. But this is a bit ore complicated than that." Bruce looks at the table and raises an eyebrow slightly then returns eye contact to Selena. He says, "I'm in a very good mood right now. I've ... been away for months and been preoccupied with my latest mission and ... there was a time, not too long ago when I'd just buy new silverware. But I'm finding my obsessions are actually impeding my work. So I'm trying to make time for other things. Like you. This is a rare diversion. Thank you for it. Ask me what you want. Take your time.” Selina nods, "Well, all right." She offers, going to dig over to her own food. "Where do we stand then? With this little game of our's we go back and forth with?" She answers quietly. "Because I'm not sure where we're going anymore or if we're just going through the motions for the sake of tradition and inertia.” Bruce smiles a little. "I was sort of hoping you'd ask me something easy, like dealing with the League of Assassins. I'm ... I'm not sure myself. This is unfamiliar territory for me. I usually keep my lives separate. I find I can't do that with you. ALFRED!" Bruce raises his voice sharply. "Yes Master Wayne?" "Where are the damned utensils?!" "Sorry sir. Someone absconded with them. I believe I made mention to you." Alfred retreats to the kitchen. A victorious retreat. Bruce shakes his head, then reaches into his blazer and produces a Swiss Army knife. He snaps the spoon out, scoops some stew out and offers it to Selina. "It's not inertia. Let's agree on that. We've hit some stumbling blocks. I know I did. Let's try starting over. Let's try to set time aside for things like this. Let's see what happens. Fair enough?” Selina leans back, "Bruce. For us, there is no real clue where we get to start over. We both have very different lives. That hasn't changed." Her tone is quiet, and for once sincere. Not sad. "And -fine-." The utensils are then laid out on the table and.. It's probably better not to ask /how/ Selina carried them all back in when she clearly did not have any pockets o ra purse. Girl ahd to have some secrets. "Because Bruce, I want us both to be happy. But I'm also not sure how we go about doing that" Her tone is honest. And.. For a rare time, vulnerable Bruce wiggles the spoon a little, pretends to blow on it. My dad told me a story. A good man dies and by mistake he gets sent to Hell. In hell he's led to a huge cauldron of wonderful stew. The damned are all around it and trying to eat. Only the spoon they're given are about three feet long and chained to their arms so there's no way they can get the bowl of the spoon to their mouths without it spilling out. They're all cursing and devilishly hungry. The man endures this a while until and couple angels show up and explain to the devils a mistake was made. They show them the paperwork and the devils release him. The man of course is overjoyed. He asks the angels, "What's Heaven like." The angels say, "Oh just like this, stew pot, stew and oversized spoons." Bruce takes a breath and looks wistful a moment, "The man is horrified and says, 'How is that any better?!' The angel says, 'In Heaven we feed each other.’" Selina pffs softly then, "I have another one like that." She lightly intones, "A rich man is about to die. On his deathbed, he pleads for death to let him take with him that which has the most value to him so that he can be comforted with it as he goes along. Eventually the angels accommodate him. So, the man takes upon his deathbed a briefcase that is filled with as much as he can carry with him -gold bars. Thick and heavy, several tons worth.” Upon getting to heaven, an angel wants to see what was so important to him to have along, and then looks confused and goes, "Why did he bring pavement with him?” Bruce heh's. "These jokes all slam the rich guys. So ... do we learn to feed each other? Or do we stay in Hell?” Selina shrugs, "But where’s the fun in that? Can't a girl live independently? I mean, what's so wrong when it comes to just taking what you need?” Bruce sees his stew is being ignored and eats it himself. " ... nothing when it's a matter of survival say. If you're just grabbing shinies because you like shinies then ... who's bringing gold bars to Heaven? Why are you still doing it? Just because you're stealing from people who can afford it doesn't make it right. You're ... you could do anything. You could be a partner, help clean up this city." Selina sighs, "Bruce, we have different goals in life. You want to stop something that can't be stopped. The city might not be terminal, but its o life support. It has been for a long time, and it will be for a long time after. You can stem the bleeding, but you can't stop it. This city is my home, but so is the darkness in it.” Bruce glares. "So because a situation looks bad ... that is now a reason not to try? I've faced one odds before. Maybe I won't see Gotham remade. But Maybe I'll set up something Damian and Carrie can finish. Maybe I'm delusional." His voice deepens and oddly becomes softer. He rubs his eyes. Selina just shakes her head, "Bruce, I respect you, and what you do. But your life is not mine. I will help when it suits me, but I will not abandon my entire life for you. Even if you disapprove of what I do.” Bruce shakes his head. "I respect your ... abilities. I know I could always depend on you if I needed you. But I want to ask you something: where do you see yourself in five years? Or ten?” Selina just half smiles, "Doing the same thing I am now. Takin what I can, and being the best there is at it." She goes on softly, "And I'll put that right back to you. But in ten years. Twenty." Bruce says, "I'm not giving up on my City, not while I draw breath. I'm going to try to make a difference, try to keep decent people safe. Where it ends I don't know. Who does? Where do you see us?” Selina lets out a breath, "I don't know on that, Bruce. I don't know where we are in the future if anywhere. I just know one thing about you. And it's so brave, but also so sad." Bruce says, “Sounds like me. Go ahead.” Selina leans back quietly, "Crime will never stop, so long as there is free will. So there will always be a Batman. And as long as you can keep it up, that Batman will be you. You won't trust someone else with it. Not enough to step back completely." Bruce steeples his hands and asks, "Why do you think I merely 'disapprove' of your lifestyle? Why don't I stop you? I won't accept that I can't as an answer. You know what I mean. Why don't I at least try to stop you? What do you think it'd take to make me want to try?" Selina leans back over, "Bruce, you're dodging the question. Id on't want you to stop being what you are. But I also don’t want to see you push yourself to the point where this is nothing left. Where there's just a body on life support that can't move again. Because you will keep on going till you can't go anymore.” Bruce leans towards her and brushes his hand on her cheek. "I'm not dodging anything. You said I can't step back. I step back where you're concerned. I don't want to see you push yourself till there's nothing left either. You have a good heart. You were broken by this city. We both were. We were the victims of cowardly, weak men. We put ourselves back together. We both became something more ... and maybe in some ways something less. But I want to try to be with you. Maybe we can keep ourselves off life support if we stay together. Independent, but together. See ... we're actually talking now. Alfred isn't even listening. Trust me." Selina just shakes her head and lets out a sigh, "I just want to make sure you're not going to condemn yourself to your fate, Bruce. And that's something I know that not me or anyone else will be able to stop you from. Not me, not Alfred, not Nightwing." She goes to speak honestly, for once, and reaches out to squeeze his hand. Bruce takes her hand. "Maybe ... we need something more to live for than our chosen life styles? Maybe we can figure out a new way ... Selina ... I am not a truthful person. I have many many lies of omission in particular. I don't tell people things because ... I'm afraid they will get involved and mess up my operations, or they will prove a distraction to me or I just don't think telling them will have any purpose and make them worry. I'm seeing troubling things I have not made sense of yet. Abductions of homeless from the Bowery and several hospitals, UFOs, paranormal events I would ordinarily ignore as nonsense but I made other research while I was away. Something is coming. I ... don't want to leave things unresolved." Bruce reaches into his jacket and produces a large jewelry box. He opens it to display a platinum necklace with emeralds. "This was given to my mother as a wedding gift from my father's father. I want you to have it. I want you to know you mean a lot to me. You can take it or I can lock it up ... and you could still take it." Selina takes a breath, "Bruce, in the end you live for one thing. And that is this city. And it will take you down with it if it has the chance. And I don't want to look down the road ten, twenty years and see a man that has tried to swim upwards from the undercurrent one too many times and can't make that final breath. So I don't know where things will go between us. But you deserve honesty. The same for me." Bruce holds the necklace out to her. "I'm giving you something. The materials in the necklace mean nothing to me. It's the sentiment that gives it value. It's a gift. I know no one ever gives you anything. The only question is ... will you let me give it to you?" He sets it down on the table next to the forgotten meal. Selina leans in to give Bruce a gentle kiss on the cheek, "I know what it is, Bruce. And I know how much it means to you." She gently strokes his cheek. "But it's for someone else. That is for your son to give to whomever he loves and wishes to be with forever. I am honored by it. But it is his. It belongs in the family."